Some years ago while giving a training I got the feedback of being a geek. Not
that there is anything wrong with geeks, but I'm sure that there is more in
life than programming. And hence this site. You can either selectively unfold a
topic clicking on the header, or unfold them all here.

Combining
great new technologies

I
just read the announcement of new high resolution pictures of Holland on Google
Earth. Of course, I had to take a look and was astonished by the amount of
detail visible, seeing my own and neighbors car on our driveway. 52˚13’06.84” N
5˚58’02.89” is my attic where I sit right now.

We have come a far way with satellite images - more than 20 years ago I helped
processing the first SPOT images at the University of Stuttgart. We were proud
to detect landmarks such as highways after hours of intensive data processing.
Today just a mouse click away much higher resolution data freely available on
the internet.

While this is great technology in itself, I really was stunned taking a look at
some flight tracking information available on the internet. Take a look at
http://www.fboweb.com/, select the "Google Earth Primer" button on the
right-hand side and select the demo link halfway down the page. You can see how
planes find their way into an airport such as Seattle Tacoma. Even more, any
flight number can be looked up and you’ll see where on Earth it is. Take in
particular a lower angle to see the height of a plane.

Posted October 2006

Fermat's
last theorem

It
is primarily during the summer vacation that I do find some time to read. This
year I got hold of a copy of Simon Singh's book
Fermat's last theorem.

Now that almost twenty years passed since I left the university all memories
came back - the challenge of a proof and the devotion for the mathematicians
pure abstract and universal world." Do you remember how to proof that the
square root of 2 is irrational? This book takes you through the history of the
calculus that started with the work of some many great Greek thinkers such as
Archimedes, Euclid and Pythagoras.

It was in particular the historical perspective, well documented and fairly
easy to read that I liked so much about Singh's book. And if you wish to take
it a little further, take a look at
Basic Ideas in Greek Mathematics.

Posted August 2006

Bossa
Nova

In preparation of some Jazz lessons I was looking for a good example for a
simple bossa nova piano bass line. For this I was not successful, but I learnt a
lot about the bossa nova as such. From
Brazilian Piano Styles by Jovino Santos Neto the following section:

In the late 50s, a new musical wave was being developed in Brazil, once again
combining elements from quite different origins. On one hand, there was a group
of young musicians in Rio who were listening to American jazz singers and
players, absorbing harmonic influences and styles, especially from West Coast
cool jazz musicians, such as Chet Baker and Barney Kessel. On the other hand,
in the interior of Bahia State, a young guitarist, João Gilberto, created a
sophisticated way to blend the syncopation of samba with altered chords, paving
the way to the movement that eventually came to be known as bossa nova, or “new
thing”. Gilberto’s creative partnership with pianist/composer Antonio Carlos
(a.k.a. Tom) Jobim (1927-1994) and with lyricist Vinícius de Moraes sparked a
way of music making that emphasized sophisticated harmonies with an understated
vocal delivery and a delicate groove, often based on samba, but with other
rhythms present as well. Many other pianists contributed to the development of
the bossa nova language, among them Luis Eça, Eumir Deodato, Sérgio Mendes,
Hamilton Godoy, César Camargo Mariano and João Donato.

And while looking for some Bossa Nova baselines I did come across the two
papers below. And as I cannot neglect my academic IT background I got - to some
extend - fascinated by the scientific approach people took in analyzing the
swinging Latin rhythm that let your body move. What a contrast! And what it
also made clear to me is that playing the Bossa Nova is a
rhythmic challenge -
look at the indices provided in the 'Measures of Syncopation'.

This year's Microsoft Professional Developer's Conference was in Los Angeles.
November and still being able to sit outside all night, that is for us living
in Holland quite an experience. Even more so an open air concert in the famous
Hollywood Bowl. So I picked up a local paper and was reading about a
concert that Pink Martini was about to
give at the bowl. I must admit, I never have heart about that twelve man
assemble. But a reference to Latin music in the style of the nightclubs of the
thirties, that made me curious. Together with the Los
Angels Symphony
Orchestra, which basically was providing a nice string background, their
French, Japanese, Italian and of course English repertoire it was just a
perfect evening in a perfect entourage with 16.000 people.

In today's times of fast money it is amazing that it took seven years for the
band to follow up their debut album "Sympatique" with "Hang On Little Tomato"
in 2004. Songs of both albums where played, ending with a giant spectacle with
twelve Brazilian samba girls entering the stage on the sweeping
rhythm of
"Brazil".

>

Posted November 2006

To
google or not to google

that is no question.
”To google” has taken it's place in our lives. And this liveliness
therefore reflected in the languages spoken all over the world. Consequently a
new verb is now officially enlisted in the Oxford Dictionary – to google. But
not only there, 'google' shows up in other languages I speak. The Dutch for
example say 'googlen' (Dikke van Dale XIV, august 2005), the German 'googeln'
(23. Duden, september 2004). Watch the subtle differences, they reflect the
integration of ‘google’ into the language's grammar structure. That said I
wondered about the French which are more resistant to pick up English words.
Googling I did not find as quickly an answer. But there is a reference,
"googler", but not (yet) part of "le Larousse". And look what the
French did - they pronounce it "Googleur", which in my ears sound more like a
juggler. But than, isn't this how you feel when googling?

If you take a look at the definitions given in the various dictionaries, you
will find “Search for information”. I believe that my daughters (7 and 11) have
a different association. Half of their time they google pictures – for fun. For
example to use it as a new background or to create a virtual postcard. This
goes beyond the search for information, it has become part of their lifestyle
(and I haven’t even written about the search for music …).

Posted November 2005

India

I was lucky to get sent now to Bangalore, India
to train our partner. As this was already the second
time I did know to some extend what to expect.

Instead of sharing the crowdedness of Bangalore I want to show you this time more of the
marvelous country.
Look at the peppers being dried by the sun
in a little village 2 hours south of
Bangalore. It all seemed so quiet and
peaceful there.

And look at this beautiful
scenery left. A weekend spot for Indian
families.

Back in Bangalore
you'll stick in an almost constantly present traffic jam.
Mobility comes with all the money that IT
outsourcing brings to Bangalore. Whole families
are using a single motorbike. Imagine that
everyone would use a car instead! Enough said,
let's take a look outside the greater Bangalore
area, where this drastically changes. Here you still find that coconuts are
transported by bicycle.

Of course, there are also more modern means of
transportation, see the motor on the right.

In fact, the country is modernizing fast, and drivers
like here on the left side photo are a good example of it. I saw them just north of
Bangalore bringing the frame of a truck built in the South of India all the way up to Delhi.
The completion is done closer to the customer, such that one can easily take care of any
special requirements.

But than, on the other hand, there are still a lot of people that cannot
afford a truck. The oxen is still visible in the street, even in the busy streets of
Bangalore.

And now... a cup of coffee please.

Oh - before I forget. You need to see this one on the right. A parking spot for auto's as the favorite means of transportation (other than a overly
crowded bus) they are called in India.

Posted July 2005

A (digital) monument for Dutch Shoah victims

I just visited a new site that honors and remembers the jewish victims of the second world war called Digitaal Monument Joodse Gemeenschap in Nederland. The main page is impressive - and just click anywhere to see how it unfolds presenting the information of one of the more than 100.000 victims.
As my mother's mother was Jewish I checked "Kets de Vries"
and compared it with my
genealogical
information that I have collected over the
past years. It turns out this is a very valuable
source, in particular due to its numerous
navigations. I did spot a few omissions, in
particular in family relations, but being able
to submit updates allows us to further develop
this monument for our forefathers.

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